I've spent a fantastic week in Kraków. I've treated myself with nice dinners every night, I've had plenty of chats with Stefan and his friends and I have even had a short little holiday romance.

I've also decided that Kraków will be the end of this bike tour – I will take the train to Budapest. The reason is that heavy showers have hit Central Europe and many cities – among them Passau and Prague – are flooded. My mum was not the only one to send me worried sms:es.

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I can't recommend travelling by train with your bike. At first message was simple: It's impossible. But then I was allowed to stuff my bike into the corridor outside the compartment – but only in a normal wagon and I had to kiss my sleeping reservation goodbye without getting the 12 dollars back.

The night on the train was a nightmare: Every hour or so I was waken up – yes, I managed to sleep sitting – by either customs officials who wanted to see my passport, or new conductors who wanted their fair share of what I supposedly could give them for having the bike in the corridor. 5 dollars to the Polish conductor, half a dollar to the Slovakian and 5 dollars again to the Hungarian. ”Czechoslovakia” really is amazing.

The first thing I did after checking in to my hostel in Budapest was to go bathing. After all, that's what Budapest is famous for. I chose Kiraly, a Turkish bath from the 16th century (the Turks occupied Budapest from 1541 to 1686).

What a feeling! Finally I could just relax! A sumo-like man asked if I wanted a massage, and I tell you, that was the best gift I could give to my body after all the work it has done this summer.

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Update 17 July 2003: During the 10 days I spent in Budapest, I became quite fond of the city. I also had a holiday love affair that wouldn't stop. So in January 2003, after finishing my BA at Stockholm University, I moved to Budapest. The Budapest spring was wonderful to experience, but it's hard for a Swede specialized in media and communication to get a job in Hungary. So in June, I moved the German capital Berlin. I will spend at least the summer here, then we'll see what happens.

I hope to see you on the road or in the guestbook!

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Update 24 March 2004: I spent a wonderful summer in Berlin and then moved back to Stockholm, where I was offered a job as a graphic designer at a computer press publishing house. I've now worked there for half a year, and I must confess it's quite convenient to have a monthly salary, something I haven't really had before.

As for biking, I haven't done a lot of it lately, partly because of the long Nordic winter (but that hasn't stopped me before). Last weekend I packed a bag with tubes, pump and tools and head for the bike room to get my bike fit for the spring. It turned out it was stolen. Surely an anti-climax, but nevermind, you can't say it hadn't served me well for miles and miles again - now I look forward to buy a new bike! And when I do, you can be sure I'll write all about it on this site - especially when I hit the road again for another long bike tour. If you have registered below you'll get an e-mail whenever I update this site.